Tyra Banks

“Take responsibility for yourself, because no one's going to take responsibility for you.”

Bio:Tyra Banks (born Tyra Lynne Banks in California on December 4, 1973) is an American model. She started modeling at the age of 15, although she didn’t have a strong start. Tyra was rejected by six agencies before she signed with L.A. Models. She switched to Elite Model Management at age 16 and began modeling in Europe. Tyra put college on hold and moved to Milan, where she walked in 25 shows during Paris Fashion Week in 1991. In her career ,she has appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue twice. She was the first African American woman to cover the swimsuit edition. She is best known for her work with Victoria’s Secret, where she was one of the original Angels. Tyra worked with Victoria’s Secret from 1997-2005. In addition to modeling, Tyra has acted on a slew of TV shows, (with the first being The Fresh Prince of Bel Air). She also has starred in music videos for Michael Jackson and other artists. Additionally, she is also is the creator and host of America’s Next Top Model, co-creator of True Beauty, and was the host of her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.

Best Known For:
Tyra Banks is best known for being a model. Additionally, she is one of the original Victoria’s Secret Angels.

Personal Life:
Tyra Banks is currently single. She has been romantically linked to a slew of famous men, including film director John Singleton, musician Seal, and actor Will Smith in the 90s. She dated basketball player Chris Webber from 2001-2004. The model has also been very vocal about abusive relationships and admits to having been a victim. While she alluded to the abuse that she suffered in 2005, in 2009 she really opened up on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The model hosted alongside Oprah and candidly discussed both physical and emotional abuse in relationships. The episode was in response to Chris Brown’s assault on Rihanna.